I've used the red meranti variety for guitar necks and also an outdoor bench. The wood was originally bought for a different project. The necks I have made with it have held up fine. It is somewhat coarse grained compared to mahogany. It also had white resin streaks which pretty much disappeared under finish. It was cheap to buy and I think a lot of Asian imports use it for necks. Meranti comes in a lot of varieties with noticeably different properties. It goes by a multitude of names, which can help sort out what type of wood it is. Google the wood database for better information on the various types.
I bought a couple of hundred board feet of kiln dried walnut for $1 a board ft (many years ago) and have been using that for guitar necks, which I like a little better than meranti. I've been whittling away at my wood stash so my wife doesn't have to deal with so much of it when I croak. At some point we all have to realize we aren't going to live to 150.
